Rotten to the Core
by ChangingTheCircumstances
Summary: Harvey's in Hardman's way and Hardman will do anything to get rid of him. Set in Season 2 Harvey/Mike Established Relationship. Rated M
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my second Suits fanfic and I hope everyone enjoys it. There might be a few spoilers in here since it does take place in Season 2. Just wanted to warn everyone.**

* * *

The day was slightly clouded but it didn't look like it would rain at all which was good. People bustled back and forth on the city streets, some business men, others tourists, and some just regular people shopping or seeing friends.

Five blocks down from Pearson-Hardman stood Daniel Hardman. He stood in a simple suit with a cup of coffee in his hand. Across from him stood another business man dressed in an equally normal suit. The man stood only a few inches taller from Hardman himself and looked around the same age. His hair, however, still retained some of its former color, black. The man's eyes were a warm light green but seemed extremely cold nevertheless. Both men were smiling but not in a very joyful way either.

"You say that you will make sure he is gone by this afternoon today?" asked Hardman. His voice was soft and calm like always as he stared at the other man.

"Don't worry. I'm positive that you will have no more trouble from him after today," replied the man with a cool gaze. His voice was hard, almost deadly sounding.

"How is it planned?"

"Simple and to the point," the man replied. "Everything will be perfectly fine."

"Good," Hardman said back with a small smile. "Harvey Specter has only become a bigger thorn in my side. I think it's time he leaves Pearson-Hardman. Permanently."

"May I ask why you don't simply take out Jessica Pearson?" the man then asked.

"Two suspicious and besides," Hardman replied, "this way the one man she knows she can trust won't be able to back her up."

* * *

Harvey kissed Mike as he laid on top of his associate, smiling at the fact that Mike was with him and that it was Saturday, both of them not having to go to work that day.

"I remember when most of the time I'd be working on Saturdays at home because of all the work you would assign me," said Mike.

"And I would normally be out with a date and drinking. I like this arrangement much better," replied Harvey as he kissed Mike again. He started laughing when Mike shoved him to the side and then rolled on top of him. "Feeling dominate today are we? I don't think so." Harvey pushed him over this time and got on top of him once again. "By the way," Harvey added, "if you plan on still trying to be the dominant one I suggest you roll to the left. One more flip to the right and we will be on the floor."

"I don't know . . . I thought your floor was pretty nice last time," replied Mike with a smirk that Harvey quickly wiped off as he kissed him again.

"Don't be rude to the obvious superior here," replied Harvey.

Kissing him deeply this time, Harvey situated himself into a slightly more comfortable position, the sheets ruffling around them. He would have kept going if his phone hadn't made the sound telling Harvey he had a text.

Mike gave a sigh as he pulled back slightly from the kiss and asked, "Do you want to get that?"

"'Do I want to get it' and 'Am I going to get it' are two totally different things," replied Harvey as he rolled over and grabbed the phone.

The text was from Jessica and said;

_I need to talk to you about Hardman. I've found something that I can't tell you over the phone. I know it's your day off but meet me at the office as soon as you can._

Harvey gave an irritated sigh as Mike raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, it's just that I need to go to the office right now."

Mike gave a huff as he then asked, "When are you coming back?"

"No idea but hopefully soon," replied Harvey as he got up and went to go get dressed.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks for the reviews. Hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

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Harvey didn't want to leave Mike but if Jessica said that she had found something so important that she couldn't even say it over the phone then Harvey supposed he had to go.

"Be back soon," murmured Mike as he kissed Harvey good-bye.

"I plan to be," replied Harvey with a smirk as he left.

Since he was leaving right now, and because Ray was working at the moment, Harvey simply grabbed a cab. Thankfully, there was one heading his way and it didn't pass by. Harvey said the address as he sat down, closed the door, and they were off.

For quite some time, Harvey was wrapped in his own world, his thoughts hopping from Jessica to Hardman to Mike and back again. Therefore, it was only several minutes later that Harvey realized they weren't going in the right direction.

"Hey!" a very irritated Harvey cried. "I said it was on—"

"I know what you said Mr. Specter. There is no need to shout," replied the driver.

Harvey froze at the words because he hadn't said his name when entering the car, not once. "How do you know my name?"

"That is not important Mr. Specter," the man replied. "Also, before you even think about trying to get out, the doors are locked."

"Is this one of Louis' tricks because if it is I'll throw him out one of my office windows," Harvey warned even though something told him this wasn't Louis.

"An amusing thought but sadly quite wrong and, I might add, that before you can even get your hands around my neck I can turn around and shoot you in the head," the man replied as he shot a grin at Harvey through the mirror. To prove his point, the man showed him the gun; it had a silencer on it.

Harvey stayed where he was, as he really looked at the cab driver. He had greasy looking brown hair and dark eyes. His skin was tan and he looked well built and Harvey was pretty sure he was average height.

Harvey looked out the window then and saw that they had made their way into a deserted part of the city. The taxi pulled into an alleyway and once it stopped the driver went around to the side and roughly pulled Harvey out of the car, the gun pointed at his head.

"So what do you want?" asked Harvey as the man pulled him away from the car and up against a car. "Let me guess, I won a case in court and somehow that ruined your entire life."

"Not even close Mr. Specter," the man replied. "And, before you even ask, this isn't a simple mugging. Why would I target out a specific person that I've never even met in my entire life just to mug him?"

"I have no idea and I would love to stay here and chat with you but I'm supposed to be meeting someone and then afterwards hopefully going home."

"If everything goes as planned you won't ever be going home."

Harvey didn't like the sound of that. "If you've never met me then my guess is that you're working for someone who has met me and doesn't like me very much."

"No, the man I work for doesn't know you and the man he works for doesn't know you either."

"So in other words, you have no idea who actually hired you to, what I'm guessing is, kill me."

"Not a clue Mr. Specter," replied the man with a smile. "The only thing I know is that whoever wants you dead wants you dead very badly and that they specifically asked to make it as painful as possible."

And with those words he shot Harvey in the stomach.

Harvey had never been shot before. He had been punched, kicked, someone even ran at him with a knife once but never a gun. The bullet tore through the shirt, seven layers of skin, and lodged itself in the muscle and tissue while making Harvey feel like someone had set fire to the area the bullet had penetrated.

He fell back against the wall behind him as his blood quickly began flowing. He wanted to scream but he stayed silent as his heart felt like it would burst through his chest at the rate it was beating. His eyes teared up, making the man in front of him and the rest of the world blur.

As he fell to the ground in pain, Harvey's phone hit something, the wall, the concrete it didn't matter. What mattered was that somehow it called Donna.

* * *

Even though Harvey wasn't working today, Donna needed to finish something and was going to be there hopefully only as late as four o'clock. As she sat at her desk, the phone began ringing and she went to pick it up only to realize that it wasn't the phone on her desk, it was her personal phone.

She glanced at it to see who was calling and was surprised to see that it was Harvey. "Yes Harvey?" she asked.

There wasn't an answer. At first she thought that maybe he had done something stupid like butt dial her or something when she heard two faint voices. They were muffled though, like the phone was covered in something.

Only catching snippets of the conversation, whatever was going on seemed extremely serious. She knew one voice was Harvey's but Donna couldn't tell who the other one was.

_Help!_

The sudden shout surprised Donna so much that she actually dropped the phone. She recognized the cry for help as Harvey's voice but it wasn't strong like it normally was. The voice sounded broken and hurt, in pain.

As fast as she could while keeping her cell phone in one ear, she picked up the work phone and called nine one one as fast as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank god they believed me_, thought Donna as she practically sprinted through the halls of Pearson-Hardman despite her high heels. She was almost at the elevator when Jessica stopped her.

"Donna what's the matter?" asked Jessica, concern on her face.

Running around Jessica and pressing the button to go down Donna said, "I don't know. Harvey's in trouble though and I'm going to the police station now."

"Please don't tell me he got arrested for something stupid like drunk driving—"

"Harvey practically screamed the word help!" Donna yelled as she hit the down button again, wishing the elevator could come sooner. "He has never said the word help before in his entire life and he sounded in pain of all things while he yelled it!"

By this time the elevator had opened and Donna jumped in and hit the button for the ground floor. However, before the doors closed Jessica slipped in.

"What are you—"

"You say Harvey's in trouble like something really bad? Then I'm going with you," interrupted Jessica.

They made it to the police in record time. However, the man at the front was not very welcoming or helpful. However, after a few chose words from Donna and a word from Jessica about her being Jessica _Pearson_ as in Pearson-Hardman the man seemed a lot more cooperative.

He directed them to a detective, the one who was apparently in charge of the situation. He was tall and slim with beady eyes and dirty blond hair in a buzz cut. He seemed extremely eager to talk to them but not in a good way.

"It's a good thing that you got here now," the detective said. "We just tracked the call and are heading to where your friend most likely is. I'm guessing you both want to come?" At their nods he told them to ride in his car. On the way he asked them things like why Harvey had been out at that time and if he had any enemies.

Neither Jessica nor Donna could answer what Harvey could have been doing since it was his off day and both agreed on the fact that he had way to many enemies. So, in other words neither of them could really give anything very helpful to the detective.

They weren't in the first cop car to arrive but they were ahead of the wailing ambulance behind them. Therefore, when they got there Donna and Jessica saw two things.

One, that the police were cuffing a man and shoving him into a police car at the moment and two, that Harvey was laying on the ground like a lifeless doll. His clothes were covered in blood and his hair a complete mess. There were lacerations on his body, many that were still bleeding. A police officer was trying to stop most of the bleeding by applying pressure to a wound on Harvey's stomach that seemed to be the worst.

Jessica was more shocked than ever before. She didn't begin to cry or scream but it was obvious that she had not been expecting the scene in front of her. Donna, on the other hand, seemed worse off. Tears fell down her cheeks as she covered her mouth, not sure what to say, if there was anything she really could, or should, say.

* * *

Mike had been reading when his phone rang. When he saw that Jessica was the caller a small part of him thought that she had finally decided to fire him but he quickly threw that thought away. Taking a deep breath he asked, "Hello?"

"Mike, get down here this instant!"

Mike flinched at the anger in her voice. He had never heard her sound this mad before. "T-to-to the office?"

"No to the—" Jessica suddenly stopped. Mike could hear her taking a deep breath before she continued, obviously trying not to lose her head. "No, I mean to the hospital."

"The hospital?" Mike asked, completely confused at why Jessica could be asking him to go there. "Is someone hurt?"

"Yes."

Mike waited for her to tell him who but when she didn't say anything else he finally asked, "Who's hurt?" When there was still no answer an idea of who it could be came to his mind, making it harder when he asked once more, "Who is hurt?"

"It's . . . it's Harvey we don't know what happened. There's a chance he might not even make it—"

When she said Harvey's name Mike became frozen. He stopped moving, breathing, but the moment Jessica said he might not make it Mike jumped into hyper active mode. Ending the call, he grabbed his coat and then called the number Harvey had given him so he could contact Ray.

"Ray, do you know what happened to Harvey?" Mike nearly shouted into the receiver.

"N-n-no-o," stuttered Ray. "Why what's happened?"

Mike told him all he could which was pretty much that Harvey was in the hospital and Jessica said that there was a chance he might not make it. He hadn't expected it, but Ray told him he was dropping everything and coming to pick Mike up to come to the hospital with him. Mike said he'd meant him outside Harvey's apartment. He was glad that Ray was coming with him.

Making, it in record time, Ray picked up Mike and they were on their way to the hospital. Neither talked the entire ride, to consumed in their own thoughts of worry over Harvey.

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**AN: Thanks for all the reviews and story alerts! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one should be updated tomorrow.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I have mixed emotions about writing this. On one side it's fun and I also like making Hardman the bad guy since he irritates me so much. However, it also makes me depressed thinking of a hurt Harvey. Go figure. Hope you enjoy this next chapter and thanks for the reviews.**

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The last thing Harvey remembered was the pain; coursing through his body and making him feel like he was on fire. It was a relief when it stopped. But, once it did stop there was only blackness, a never ending blackness going in all directions. It frightened him.

Then, for what could have been hours, maybe just minutes Harvey heard something, a beeping noise that seemed to have no pattern and the spinning of wheels. It seemed almost as if something was covering him, like a sheet as well. However, only moments later those sounds and that feeling of sheets were gone and once again there was only the blackness.

Harvey wanted to open his eyes, he wanted to see what was going on around him but he couldn't. Then he began to forget what had happened. He didn't understand. Why was he here? Why had he felt pain before? He remembered . . . telling Mike he had to go, that he had to go see . . . who had he been to see? What was he going to do?

Then he began hearing something again. There was the beeping noise, though this time it sounded steadier, more regular. He heard someone moving besides him, their shoes squeaking on the floor. Then someone else began talking. At first he couldn't understand it but he caught the end of, ". . . think he's waking up."

Who was waking up? Were they talking, whoever _they_ were, about him?

"Mr. Specter, are you with us?" Harvey most certainly heard that. However, he couldn't respond, not yet.

Other senses began to come back to him, like smell. The place around him smelled sterile, similar to that of hospitals.

He was in a hospital, okay he was getting somewhere. He couldn't remember why he was in the hospital but he felt like someone had tried to run over him with a tank. He could feel sheets and a pillow underneath his head and what he guessed was a regular hospital gown on his body. There was something in his mouth. Something deep in his mouth, going all the way down his throat. It didn't hurt but it made swallowing hard and was a little bit irritating.

Harvey tried to move something, his hand, maybe a twitch of his nose. Finally, he tried to open his eyes. It seemed to take him the same amount of effort just to open his eyes as it does to lift a ton of bricks but he did it eventually. Opening his eyes just a crack, the light streaming in burned and he quickly shut them again. After a few more seconds, he tried opening them again. In front of him stood a doctor.

"Don't worry Mr. Specter we'll have this out in a few seconds," the doctor said as a nurse began to take out what had been in his mouth. Harvey had been right; it was a tube, to help him breathe.

As it came out his stomach convulsed but there was nothing in it to actually throw up. Taking a shaky breath, Harvey asked, "Where am I?" His voice was hoarse and it hurt to talk.

"All in due time Mr. Specter."

"Is Mike or . . . is anyone . . ."

"Your, friends, yes they are here and I must say you have quite a few of them," replied the doctor.

"That's . . . right," murmured Harvey as he tried to keep his eyes open. He just woke up and he didn't want to fall asleep again. "It's . . . Saturday."

"No Mr. Specter, it's Sunday," replied the doctor.

"I slept through a day?"

"No," the doctor said slowly. "You . . . you went into a coma. Over two weeks have passed since you came to this hospital."

It took a few minutes for the man's words to sink in but once they did Harvey's heart escalated greatly, his body shaking. Harvey closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. "Over . . . two weeks?" he asked as he wished this was just a bad dream that he would wake up from soon.

"I'm afraid so Mr. Specter," replied the doctor.

"What . . . happened to me? How did . . . how did I go into . . . a coma?" asked Harvey.

"You mean you can't remember?" asked the doctor. He didn't sound surprised, like he had expected this to happen, but still worried none the less.

"I remember . . . I was with Mike. I had to do something . . ." Harvey paused as he tried to get his thoughts in order. "I can't . . . I can't remember what I was going to do. Then there was . . . pain. So much _blinding_ pain and then . . . then there was nothing and I was here."

The doctor leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and took a deep breath as Harvey, almost in a whisper, asked, "What happened to me?" For quite a long time the doctor didn't answer and unwanted tears began to come to Harvey's eyes. His voice shaking, Harvey once again asked, "What . . . happened to me?"


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Thank you so much for the reviews!**

* * *

The doctor told Harvey what happened in the most professional way possible. He told Harvey the little bit that he knew from the police but mostly he just described Harvey's injuries to him. Bullet wound in the stomach, cracked skull, two broken ribs on the right side, three broken ribs on the left, punctured lung, multiple cuts all over, and bruises covering his body.

"You're lucky the police found you when they did," said the doctor. "If they had been any later you probably would have died. In fact, your heart did stop beating."

"I . . . was dead," said Harvey, as a shiver ran through his body.

"For nearly a minute," replied the doctor with a straight face. "Obviously you didn't fully wake up and went into a coma. Is there anything else that you need to, or want to know?"

"Um . . . no, thank you," replied Harvey. "Though, can I see them? My friends I mean."

"Yes, though there are quite a few so if you don't feel up to it then we can escort them out. There's a Donna, Rachel, Mike, Louis, Ray, and a Jessica." Harvey gave a slight groan at hearing Louis' name. He really did not want to see him right now. "Are you in pain?"

"No . . . it's just . . . never mind. It's nothing," Harvey finally said.

The doctor began to leave when he turned around and said, "My name's Gregory Benton by the way. Also there's one other person that is here to see you as well."

"Who?"

"A Daniel Hardman," replied Dr. Benton as he walked out.

Harvey only had time to give another soft groan at the sound of Hardman's name when suddenly it seemed like everyone appeared in his room.

Mike and Donna were both the first to come in, standing on either side of Harvey's bed. They looked like they had been crying for hours. Rachel then came in; she looked like she might have been crying but not anywhere near as much as Mike or Donna. Ray was next. Then Louis came in, looking extremely worried, which surprised and maybe even disturbed Harvey a bit, and behind him was Jessica and Hardman.

A shower of kisses came from Mike as Donna hugged Harvey again and again, though still being extremely careful not to hurt him. Rachel came up, giving a small smile while squeezing Harvey's hand. Mike looked like he was going to say something when Jessica, all business, said, "The police are going to want to talk to you now that you're awake."

"No 'I'm happy to see you're still alive?'" joked Harvey with a small smirk.

"I'm happy to see you're still alive," replied Jessica with a smile. "What would I do without my best closer?"

"Hang out with Louis all day. Speaking of which, why are you here Louis?"

"I came to see if you were okay."

"Now why don't I believe that?" replied Harvey.

"Believe it or not, life at Pearson-Hardman would actually be pretty boring without someone that has as big an ego as you do."

"So I make your life more interesting," Harvey retorted with a smirk.

"No, you make it a living hell but in return, it becomes more interesting," admitted Louis.

"Yes, you defiantly make everyone's life a little bit more interesting," Jessica told Harvey, "but back to what I originally said. The police are going to want to talk to you."

"Well, I'm not going to be much help."

"And why is that?"

"I don't remember anything."

The whole room went silent from shock and finally Rachel asked, "Nothing at all?"

Harvey gave a slow shake of his head as Hardman said, "Well, that is a shame isn't."

Just the sound of his voice made Harvey want to punch him. "Why are you even here? You hate me and it's not the biggest secret eith—" Harvey had to stop as he began to cough.

"I wouldn't say hate Harvey, and besides, I may dislike you but you're an asset to this firm nonetheless," replied Hardman.

"I don't care. Get out," said Harvey some strength coming back into his voice.

"If that is what you wish then so be it," replied Hardman as he walked out of the room.

When he was gone Jessica said, "Save your strength for things like getting better instead of getting mad at Hardman. It'll do you know good, especially right now."

Harvey looked like he was about to say something when Mike interrupted, "I am backing up Jessica on this one so save your snarky remark for later."

"Still trying to be the dominant one?"

The joke made Mike want to laugh and cry at the same time. He took a deep breath as he gripped Harvey's hand. "Just promise me you'll get better."

Harvey could think of about ten different snarky remarks but all he said was, "I promise." He then turned towards Ray and said, "You've been quit over there."

"It's just, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to take a cab I should've—"

"You should've nothing. You weren't working for me that day, I wasn't your responsibility. You're a good friend but none of this is your fault," said Harvey. "And, I need to know, was this just a mugging or was it planned?"

"You really don't remember anything," whispered Donna. When Harvey shook his head she said, "The man was working for someone but we don't know who. The police have tracked the man back to a drug lord who apparently was hired from someone else."

"So that this way whoever initially wants me dead is safe because he has all these people in front of him," thought Harvey out loud. "Is there any idea who it might be?"

"Not really but . . . we think whoever it is, is most likely a work colleague," replied Jessica. "That day you received a text from my phone but I didn't text it. I left it at work by accident and someone used it to contact you and get you at of your condo."

"Could've been Hardman."

"Harvey! We do not make accusations like that without any facts to back it up," replied Jessica even though Harvey could tell that the idea had already gone through her mind more than once.

"He hates me, that's a fact," replied Harvey. "Besides, do you have any other ideas?"

When no one said anything, Harvey got his answer. He took a deep breath and leaned back against his pillow.

"Either way, you need your rest Harvey. The sooner you get well the better," Jessica finally said and then left. Louis followed her and then Ray said good-bye and left as well. Rachel was the next to leave and then it was only Donna and Mike left.

"Donna, I want you to see if you can find anything on Hardman. Places he's been, people that he's been hanging out with that are suspicious, anything," Harvey said quickly.

"On it," said Donna, happy to be able to help. She squeezed his hand one more time before she left.

"I guess I'll leave too," Mike said with a bit of reluctance.

"You can stay," replied Harvey as he took hold of Mike's hand.

"Good, because I didn't want to leave." Mike grabbed a chair and then sat down by the bedside Harvey. He looked around and, upon seeing no one around, the nurse had gone, he began to cry.

"Mike—"

"I know I know," said Mike as he tried to wipe the tears away. "I've cried more these pass two weeks than I have my whole life. I'm just . . . I'm just so happy you're awake now."

Harvey gripped Mike's hand tightly as he tried to stop the tears from coming as well.


	6. Chapter 6

"You said you'd get rid of him," said Hardman as he stood in front of the same man from two weeks ago. A little bit of anger trickled into his usually calm voice. "Yet, he's still alive."

"Do not worry. Next time there will not be a mistake."

"There better not be. I want him dead and I want him dead now."

* * *

Jessica wanted it to be Hardman because that meant a definite way to get him out of the firm. However, she hoped for his own sake that it wasn't him because if it was, the rest of his life would be the most miserable years a human being had ever lived.

She was almost positive that he had been the one to send that text from her phone. However, there hadn't been any other finger prints besides her own on the phone meaning that there was no proof that it was Hardman.

Trying to get evidence, Jessica hired a private detective to scout Hardman when he left work. Most of the time he went home or to a restaurant. Nevertheless, every once in a while the detective would lose Hardman, anywhere between fifteen minutes to an hour. During those times, Jessica had no idea where Hardman had gone to and she didn't like it. It made her wonder if the detective she had hired wasn't as good as she had originally thought, or if Hardman was just that much better at ditching the detective, if he knew he was being followed everyday that is.

Jessica kept in touch with the police, wanting to know immediately if they found anything. So far it seemed like they had hit a dead end but she hoped that they would eventually figure out who had hurt Harvey.

Speaking of Harvey, she tried to see him as often as she could. Sometimes he was alone but more often than not Mike and or Donna were with him. She found out that Donna was also checking into Hardman as well. It irritated Jessica that Harvey had asked her do this without asking her first but she didn't stop Donna from investigating. If Donna, the police, and herself were all working on trying to figure who had done this to Harvey then it was much more likely that they would find the perpetrator that much quicker.

She also kept a close eye on Donna and Mike. Donna had seemed to get herself together but Mike still seemed greatly troubled though she couldn't really blame him, he truly was only a kid. He seemed emotionally more distant and instead of the normally witty remarks that he shot at his fellow associates when they messed with him he just stayed quit and ignored them. Thankfully though, Jessica had asked Louis to make sure that he kept the associates in check and so far he seemed to be doing that. Despite all this, however, Mike's work was not affected which was good.

Jessica just hoped that no one would try to take Harvey's life again.

* * *

The work that he had once enjoyed doing so much had simply become a distraction. He hated thinking of Harvey in that hospital bed, pale, weak, broken, bruised. However, everyday he had to face that because every day he came went to see Harvey.

When Donna was there, all three of them talked about how Donna was doing with finding anything on Hardman. However, when it was just Mike and Harvey they talked about nothing in particular. Sometimes they would discuss how things were going on at work, what was new in the world, or whatever. At one point, Harvey got Mike to talk _Star Trek_ with him and another time Mike mentioned the idea of a vacation later that year.

Mike was with Harvey right now. It was Thursday, five days since Harvey woke up, and it was a little pass six o'clock. Harvey took a bite of the crappy hospital food as Mike asked, "Anything interesting happen today?"

"Besides sitting in a bed all day, nothing much. The day passed pretty slowly and it didn't help that there weren't any hot nurses." Harvey added the last part, laughing at Mike's glare. "I'm kidding but yeah, not much happened. I did catch the movie _Star Trek: The Final Frontier_ on TV though."

"Not _Star Trek_ again!" Mike cried as he eased into his chair. "How much _Star Trek_ is there anyway?"

"Let's see," started Harvey, "including the new _Star Trek_ movie there are eleven movies I believe, and there are five TV shows, not counting the animated series or fan made series."

"Good lord," muttered Mike as he shook his head.

Harvey chuckled at his expression as he took his first sip of his decaf coffee and then immediately spit it out.

"Harvey are you—"

"Get someone. Quickly!" said Harvey as he tried to spit out any of the coffee that was still in his mouth.

Mike did as Harvey asked, thankful that Harvey's doctor, Dr. Benton, was right in the hallway. Telling him to come quickly, they made it to the room. Harvey was trying to get the rest of the coffee out of his mouth anymore and was now just sitting there, looking deathly pale.

"What's wrong?" asked Dr. Benton worriedly.

Harvey gestured to the cup of coffee. The doctor took it, sniffed it, and put a small drop of the liquid to his tongue. His eyes widened at what he tasted.

"You didn't happen to get almond decaf did you?" asked Dr. Benton. Harvey shook his head no.

"What does almonds have to do with anything?" asked Mike, completely confused.

"Cyanide smells like almonds," replied Dr. Benton. "Now, I'm not positive and we'll have to test it, but I do believe that Mr. Specter was just nearly poisoned."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Thanks for the reviews!**

* * *

Two days had passed since Harvey had been nearly poisoned but everyone was still on edge. Like last time, the police found the person who had put the cyanide into Harvey's coffee but also like last time they could only find her employer but couldn't track it back any farther. Jessica hadn't gotten any farther in trying to prove that Hardman was behind any of this either.

It was Saturday so of course Mike was with Harvey again. Ray had visited for a short time but had already gone and now Donna was there and she seemed pretty excited about something.

"I think I might have got something," she said.

"What is it?" asked Harvey.

"Well, first I checked Hardman's bank records and it seems he's been making some pretty hefty withdrawals in the past few weeks," answered Donna. "Also, I followed him and got some interesting pictures that I sent to the police so they could identify the other guy that he was with."

"You followed him?" asked Harvey.

"Don't worry I was perfectly safe. Even if he saw me he wouldn't have known it was me," she said with a smile. In answer to Harvey's and Mike's skeptical looks she said, "I got on a black wig, took off all my make-up, put on glasses, and got some ratty clothes from the clearance section of Targets. Believe me when I say that I looked nothing like myself."

"You know, a good bit of my everyday clothes actually come from places like Targets," muttered Mike which made Donna laugh.

"Anyway, you mentioned Hardman was with another man, did you recognize him at all?" asked Harvey.

"No, that's why I sent the photos into the police. Since we all figure it's more than likely Hardman, I thought that if the police couldn't track either of the two people who tried to kill you earlier to Hardman, then maybe they could connect Hardman to them," replied Donna.

"That's actually not a bad idea. I doubt Hardman thought we might try that either," muttered Harvey. He then adjusted himself slightly and asked, "Mind helping me out here Mike?"

"Not at all," replied Mike as he helped Harvey so that he was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"And what exactly are you doing?" asked Donna.

"Stretching my legs," replied Harvey. "I was in a coma and confined to a bed for over two weeks. I need to start using my legs again."

"Do you want me to help hold you?"

"It's okay, I should be able to stand on my own," answered Harvey. However, as he stood up, his knees buckled and he fell down, Mike just barely catching him.

That fall, however, saved his life.

Where his head had been, there was now a bullet hole in the wall. For a moment everyone was frozen and then finally they began to move again. Donna dropped to the floor besides Harvey and Mike behind the bed. Another shot rang out, dangerously close to Harvey's head again.

As they tried to get closer to the ground Donna said, "I'd really like to know who you pissed off so badly Harvey."

"Believe me, so would I. Especially if it's Hardman, it gives me a good reason to punch him," he replied. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

"There's no cover between here and the door though. If we're not quick enough one of us could get shot," said Mike.

"Well, maybe if we block Harvey they won't shoot us," suggested Donna. "He is the one being attacked."

"And what if they do shoot anyway? What then?" asked Mike.

"Well it's either try to get out of here now and risk being shot or wait here and risk being shot. Either way our chances aren't great but I'd go with the one that leads out the door," replied Donna.

Mike looked at Harvey, his face questioning. Finally Harvey said, "I say we go far the door."

Mike gave a slight nod and then wrapped his arms around Harvey's body, ready to help him get up and run. Donna did the same.

"On the count of three," said Donna. "One . . . two . . . THREE!"

As quick as they could, they stood up and rushed out the door. Two more shots rang out before they made it and they practically dived out the door and into a crowd of people that had heard the shots. A nurse had already gotten the police online and they were on the way now.

"Harvey, are you hurt?" asked Mike.

"I'm fine, just a little winded," gasped Harvey. "Are you okay? Donna, what about you?"

"Mike's fine," answered Donna. "I wasn't so lucky though." Donna moved her hand from her shoulder. It was bleeding badly and she winced as a nearby doctor began to look over the bullet wound.

"It passed clean through," said the doctor. "You were lucky. It could've gotten lodged in your bone or hit a major blood vessel."

Donna, Harvey, and Mike looked at each other; fear as clear as day in their eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Just wanted to say thanks again for everybody who favorited this story, story-alerted, or reviewed. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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The streets of the city were still crowded and bustling despite the time. Zero stars shown because of the bright lights from the shops and businesses. On the sidewalks stood two men, currently in the middle of a very heated argument. One of the men was Hardman.

At first, Hardman had done all this simply to get Harvey out of the way and gain control of the company. However, now he was angry. Having Harvey dead wasn't just a simple benefit anymore; it was also personal as well. Harvey had somehow evaded all means of death. Hardman was not happy and he let the man he had spoken to before know it.

"I said I wanted him dead!" shouted Hardman. "I said that almost a month ago and yet he's still alive. Do you care to explain?"

"I promise it won't happen again," replied the man, obviously surprised by Hardman's anger.

"Well guess what? I don't care if someone has to run at him with a knife if that what it takes."

"But you said you wanted to be as discreet as—"

"I don't care about being discreet anymore! I just want him dead!"

It could have been because of how mad Hardman was, how well hid the detective was, or both. Either way, the detective went unnoticed to both Hardman and the man he was yelling at.

* * *

Harvey had been put into a room without windows, and had a guard at the door, ready for anything. He hated how confined he felt but he knew it was for his own safety. Donna was going to be okay and would just have to keep a bandage around the wound for about a week. Physically, Harvey was recovering pretty quickly but mentally he was just as shook up as when he had woken up from the coma. He feared for his own life of course but he now also feared for his friends as well after what had happened.

Jessica came to see him about what had happened too at about nine o'clock that night. "You're luck's going to run out eventually Harvey," she was saying.

"Well when it does I hope you attend the funeral."

"I'm not in the mood for any of your jokes," Jessica replied, her voice cold. "This needs to be wrapped up quickly and _without_ any casualties."

"Did you come here just to tell me that because if you did I already knew that," replied Harvey. "However, making it happen is a lot harder than just saying those words."

"You think I don't know that?"

"I know you know that but that still begs the question, why are you here?" asked Harvey again.

Jessica sighed as she answered, "It seems the police might have got something. I'm not positive but I believe they have found some way to connect Hardman to the attempts at your life."

"So why isn't he in jail yet?" asked Harvey.

"Did you not here me? I said 'might' and 'I'm not positive.' The police won't arrest him unless if they have hard evidence," replied Jessica.

"So you came here to tell me good news and bad news."

"No matter if you present the good or the bad first, the other will always follow," muttered Jessica. "Now, if you excuse me I need to get home and you need to go to bed."

As Jessica began to leave Harvey bit his lip. It went against every fiber of his being to say it. However, comfort won out over reputation and before Jessica could walk out the door Harvey said, "Jessica, wait."

"Yes Harvey?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know it's late and you need to get home but . . . could you maybe . . . stay. Just for a little while longer," Harvey said gritting his teeth.

Jessica was obviously surprised but after a few moments of silence she moved to sit Harvey in one of the hospital chairs. Finally she asked, "Are you really that scared?"

It took a while for him to answer but finally Harvey said, "Yes . . . and there's something else."

"What?"

"I'm starting to remember."

"You mean the first attack?"

Harvey gave a slight nod as he took a deep breath. "Only bits and pieces though. A face here, a flash of red there. Sometimes it comes in dreams, sometimes when I'm awake."

He looked like he wanted to say more when suddenly all the lights went out.

"Harvey . . . if this is Hardman you must've really pissed him off."


	9. Chapter 9

Moments later emergency lights came on as the backup power for the hospital started up. Jessica and Harvey could hear the shouts of panicked voices outside the room as doctors, and nurses tried to figure out what was going on.

"Stay here Harvey," Jessica said in a low voice as she went out of the room.

Harvey stayed where he was, wondering what the hell she was going to do. Shifting in the hospital bed, Harvey made it so that it would be easier if he had to get up quickly. Then he saw Jessica come back in.

"What's going—"

"We're leaving, now," she interrupted. "The guard outside was just shot, I'm guessing before the emergency lights came on."

"You mean he's dead?"

"Yes, so there is no point in sitting here seeing as there is now no guard outside," replied Jessica. She got her arm around Harvey's waist, as she helped him out of the bed, noting how thin he was and the feel of his ribs against her hand.

"What about the IV drip?" asked Harvey. Almost immediately, Jessica quickly took the small tube out, leaving the actual needle in his skin.

"There, all better, now come on," she said as they made their way out of the hospital room. Everyone was in such a panic that nobody stopped them as they made their way to the stairwell.

As Jessica opened the door to the stairwell with her free hand suddenly a gun shot rang out. As fast as she could she pushed Harvey into the stairwell and closed the doors. "I know you're tired but how do you feel like running down a few stairs?"

"A few?" cried Harvey as he looked down. Then when he heard another gunshot from the other side of the door he quickly said, "Let's go."

They had made it down several flights of stairs when the door from the floor they had been on banged open. Not looking up for risk of slowing down, Jessica helped Harvey go through the nearest door. It seemed to be the area of the hospital where there weren't any patients and it was mostly machines and test work. It was just as hectic here as it was on the other floor so there weren't stopped at first.

However, eventually a woman in a white lab coat said, "Excuse me, what are you doing down here?"

"Running from a mad man with a gun that's trying to kill me," replied Harvey as Jessica shook her head. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not get shot today."

The woman was so shocked that she didn't move to stop them as they rushed passed her. They went in and out of doors, down long hallways, until they found another stairwell. Truthfully it could've been the one they had just gotten out of but that really didn't matter at the moment. All that mattered was getting out.

They went down the flights of stairs as quickly as possible, slowing down occasionally as Harvey had to catch his breath. When they got to a door that said 'ground level' on it, they quickly went through it. Walking down another hallway, they were almost at its end when the emergency lights went off and the regular lights came back on. Not pausing for a moment, Jessica continued to help Harvey along until they got to the hospital lobby and what they saw surprised them both a great deal.

Mike, Donna, and Rachel were there while the police cuffed a man, the one Harvey figured had been after him, and Hardman. Seeing Hardman in cuffs brought a smile to his face as he and Jessica made their way to everyone.

"Hey, Hardman, nice bit of bling going on."

"You!" yelled Hardman, his calm exterior completely gone. "You just wouldn't die would you! You had to keep breathing!"

"Well how could I leave any of these lovely friends of mine?" asked Harvey with a smirk as he leaned against Mike, Jessica not needing to support him anymore since they weren't running.

"You know, there will be a trial!" yelled Hardman as the police finally began to take him away.

"And who do you think is going to represent me?" asked Harvey. "Me, and, you should know, I never lose."

"And he'll have the best paralegal and associate with him the entire way," replied Donna. "Just wait to you really get to see the puppy's bark."

"Woof," Mike said, looking extremely smug about the situation.

"Good-bye Hardman," Jessica then said. "I think it's pretty clear that you are no longer part of this firm."

The five of them stood there, watching Hardman being dragged off. When he was finally gone, Donna smirked and said, "This has been extremely fun, especially when Hardman started yelling, but I need to get home."

"As do I," said Rachel, "and by the way, who said anything about me backing up Harvey?"

"You mean you—"

"Of course I'll back you up," Rachel interrupted Harvey. "I just like seeing you all annoyed."

Harvey shook his head as he watched both women leave. He then turned towards Jessica and said, "I don't mind if you want to go home now either. There's just one question I have for you."

"Yes?"

"When can I come back to work?" Harvey practically pleaded making Mike and Jessica laugh. "I'm completely serious. I don't want to spend another moment in a hospital as long as I live."

"Well you're at the very least staying tonight," replied Jessica before she departed, still smiling.

"Come on Harvey," Mike then said. "Back to the Hospital bed you go."

Harvey grumbled but didn't struggle as they made it back to his room. Of course, doctors and nurses asked if they needed help but Harvey's glare told them to back off. When they were finally in the room and Harvey was back in the bed he said, "Mike, do you mind staying for a little while?"

"Not at all," replied Mike. "I was actually planning on it."

"Good because there's something I want to tell you."

"What?"

"I'm starting to remember what happened to me. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for making you worry so much for—"

"Harvey, none of that was your fault," Mike quickly said.

"It still makes me feel better to say it out loud," replied Harvey. "Anyway, if you won't except my apology what do you want to talk about now?"

"How about something of a lighter subject."

"Like what?"

"Like you look smashing in your hospital gown," Mike replied with grin.

"Oh, shut up."

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**AN: Well, this was the end. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you to everyone who favorited this story, added it to story-alerts, and/or reviewed. I think I might write something a little bit more fluffy next time after all the angst and depressing stuff I've written. Anyway, thanks again! ^^**


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